"Wei He Luosi, you guaranteed us all that you could easily take Oldtown, but now you've suffered such heavy losses before even breaking through their docks."
"Are you just going to keep watching?"
Earl Zhuo Gu of Old Wyk Island roared discontentedly at Wei He Luosi, who stood at the bow of the ship, always looking indifferent.
Because the Zhuo Gu Family was rather unlucky, three of the twelve longships they brought this time had already been burned and sunk by Wildfire, and only a few of the nearly hundred men on board managed to escape.
Half of the remaining ships also had their sails ignited by overwhelming volleys of arrows. Although they weren't completely destroyed, they would be difficult to operate normally without occupying Oldtown for repairs, so he was naturally anxious.
One must know that almost all of the Zhuo Gu Family's elite forces had been brought by him. If the losses were too severe, it was very likely that even if they successfully returned to the Iron Islands, they might be annihilated by other families.
Although the Iron Islands are not large, disputes among the various families have almost never ceased. Especially during the King's Moot in the past, it would definitely stir up a storm of blood and gore on the Iron Islands.
Although there hasn't been a King's Moot for the past few millennia, the friction and struggles among the various families have never stopped.
The other Ironborn nobles whose situations were similar to his all chimed in to agree. After all, ever since Aegon the Conqueror burned Harrenhal and destroyed House Harren during the War of Conquest, the Ironborn nobles, even if they were as hard as iron, dared not oppose the Targaryen Family, who possessed dragons.
This time, they were all brainwashed by the massive wealth and grand promises Wei He Luosi offered, which made them eagerly set out for Oldtown. However, they had been utterly defeated before even breaking through the river-locking chains, making them feel extremely uneasy.
"Yes, Wei He Luosi! If you have any trump cards, bring them out quickly. I heard there are four dragons residing here, and if they come out again, we'll be completely annihilated."
The young Gonsor Gubler was leading the troops this time on behalf of his elder brother, Earl Gubler. Although he was only sixteen years old, he was already over 1.85 meters tall and almost unrivaled on the Iron Islands. Moreover, his voice was very loud, earning him the nickname "Gubler the Giant with a Voice Like a Bell."
Wei He Luosi Greyjoy, clad in a strange cloak, calmly surveyed everything before him with his one black and one red eye, and spoke faintly,
"Don't worry, just wait a little longer..."
"It'll be ready soon!"
Wei He Luosi's voice was as cold as ice that had just been immersed in the deep sea, making people shiver. He had almost his entire body enveloped in a black cloak.
His cloak was adorned with a kraken shape sewn from nine layers of gold foil, extending from his armor down to his boots. His tall, black iron helmet was forged into the shape of a kraken, with tentacles coiling around his cheeks.
Recently, he had completed another long voyage, bringing back immense wealth. At the same time, he claimed to have received the blessing of the drowned god, and by combining coercion with monetary incentives, he successfully persuaded various families to join him in plundering Oldtown.
"Rodrik, how much longer will it take?"
Wei He Luosi inquired of an old man beside him, who was dressed in dirty sackcloth. This old man exuded an extremely strong, fishy stench. His skin, which appeared pale from being soaked in seawater, was swollen and wrinkled.
If he hadn't been able to speak, everyone would have thought he was a bloated corpse that had fallen into the sea. And this Rodrik was also a man with a story.
In the second year of the Conquest, after Aegon the Conqueror, riding Balerion the Black Dread, burned Harrenhal, directly leading to the downfall of the Kingdom of the Isles and House Hoare, the claimants to the Iron Islands' title subsequently engaged in a power struggle that lasted over a year.
It is said that the waters between the islands were almost choked with corpses, and hundreds of krakens appeared, drawn by the blood. It wasn't until Aegon the Conqueror attacked the Iron Islands and suppressed several rebellious false kings that their struggles ended, and the Iron Islands were finally given to House Greyjoy to rule.
Rodrik, the priest-king, unwilling to submit to the Targaryen Family, attempted to summon krakens from the deep sea to drag Aegon's fleet into the abyss.
So Rodrik told everyone that he was going to consult their "father"—the drowned god—for a solution. He then filled his robes with stones, chanted praises to the sea god, and walked into the sea, with thousands of drowned god followers accompanying him.
The direct consequence of this suicidal act was that for the next few years, bloated corpses would occasionally wash up on the shores of the Iron Islands. And the appearances of krakens became increasingly frequent, yet no one ever saw Rodrik's body.
It wasn't until he returned to the Iron Islands with Wei He Luosi this time, claiming to have received the blessing of the drowned god, that everyone was utterly shocked.
However, with his neither-human-nor-ghost appearance, no one dared to approach him, nor was anyone interested in asking him what he had actually encountered.
Now, he knelt at the bow of the ship, murmuring in an unknown language. Slowly, his cloudy eyes actually turned pure white.
"I have received a divine oracle! The drowned god's messenger is about to arrive, and only the blood of the Ironborn can awaken the sleeping drowned god's son."
Rodrik suddenly became somewhat frenzied and excited. With trembling hands, he pulled out a black horn, half a meter in size, from his tattered package.
"Only blood can awaken him!"
Rodrik said to Wei He Luosi once again.
Wei He Luosi immediately understood his meaning. Without hesitation, he pulled over one of his salt wives and a young mute slave, then mercilessly slit their throats. Their blood directly stained the pitch-black horn a vivid red.
A shocking scene unfolded: the blood, upon contact with the black horn, was miraculously absorbed by it. And complex golden runes began to appear on the surface of the horn.
It wasn't until the horn had completely absorbed the blood of the man and woman that the runes gradually faded from sight.
Rodrik tremblingly handed the blood-soaked black horn to Wei He Luosi, saying,
"Blow it! Then you can summon the drowned god's messenger and the sleeping drowned god's son!"
Their bizarre and cruel actions caused the Ironborn, who were accustomed to bloody scenes, to involuntarily step back a few paces.
"Whoosh whoosh~"
Wei He Luosi didn't hesitate at all. He immediately took the horn and blew it. A low, hoarse horn sound instantly spread across Whispering Sound.
The sound of this horn was not loud, but it was strangely eerie, like the lament of a demon and the wailing of a beast.
Moreover, it seemed to possess a magical power; not only could the Ironborn and the guards in the fierce battle hear it clearly, but even all the people in Oldtown could distinctly hear the sound of this horn.
Even more terrifying, it seemed that even in distant Blackcrown City and the Three Towers, faint, low, and hoarse horn sounds, like the roars of monsters, could be heard.
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